ABC News devoted a fluffy two-hour special to the year in review, studying the news and pop culture.
They had a "Dishonor Roll" segment where they mocked the adultery of Josh Duggar and the scandal of the adultery website Ashley Madison when its client list leaked. They scorned the dentist that shot Cecil the Lion, white activist Rachel Dolezal pretending to be black, "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" star Kim Richards getting arrested for shoplifting, and pop singer Ariana Grande caught on video licking donuts. But nowhere in this summary were the grisly tapes exposing Planned Parenthood for its effort to profit from selling the organs of babies it killed in its abortion clinics.
We give our choices here because they make a lot more sense. In a look back at the cultural winners and losers of the year, a big loser has to be Planned Parenthood, no matter how energetically the left in this country tries to paper over this organization's ghoulish profiteering. Conversely, a big winner has to be the Center for Medical Progress, which released the 10 shocking videotapes that very effectively exposed the Gosnellian acquiescence at the highest levels of the abortion conglomerate.
Winner: CBS's "The Good Wife," which dared to allow a pro-life point of view to get primetime exposure, including an episode that aired a fictional version of the CMP videos and liberals that wanted them censored.
Loser: ABC's "Scandal," for outrageously having their heroine get an abortion to the strains of "Silent Night" and then smile about it at the episode's end to the strains of "Ave Maria." There are no limits to Disney's bigotry against Christians.
Loser: Caitlyn Jenner. Despite the fact that ABC and the rest of the left can only discuss the new and disfigured Bruce Jenner in one mode -- dizzy squeals of adoration -- in reality even the transgender activists are uncomfortable with this gilded one-percenter dressing in the gaudiest gowns and pretending to be oppressed.
It's been left on the cutting-room floor that Jenner was involved in a car wreck that killed 69-year-old Kimberly Howe. Ditto the wrongful-death suit filed by Howe's family. Jenner's team shot back that the dead woman's stepchildren are "financially independent and successful" and "cannot allege that they are financially dependent upon their stepmother for the necessities of life." But the media tell us "she" is the epitome of class.
Winner: Russell Wilson. This star NFL quarterback isn't just a role model for volunteering every Tuesday at Seattle Children's Hospital. While on a flight with Alaska Airlines, Wilson spotted a soldier making his way toward the coach section of the plane. He immediately upgraded the homebound warrior to a first-class seat. The soldier tweeted the news, and Wilson tweeted back "Thanks for serving our great country by serving with the army!"
Loser: Brittney Griner. The media mostly ignored the mess that this WNBA star made of her very brief "marriage" to fellow WNBA player Glory Johnson, ending in a vicious brawl. Johnson's lawyer later gave records to Sports Illustrated claiming Johnson suffered from head trauma, a concussion and spinal trauma after being hit "on the back of her head by a hard carrying case."
Winner: "American Sniper," the engrossing film on the life of Chris Kyle, including the trauma of war and struggles on the home front. Despite being released on Christmas Day 2014, it qualifies as the top-grossing film of last year, although almost all of its $350 million box-office bonanza came in 2015. The American public has a lot more gratitude for the sacrifices our troops make for freedom than the Hollywood left could ever muster.